Saw a link to Motortrend’s post on this from another site: Ford Patents In-Car System That Eavesdrops So It Can Play You Ads (motortrend.com)
They even come out to say themselves and Ford reiterated that this is often just normal business practice to get patents on file even if they are likely to never be used. That’s not to say Ford (or other manufacturers) would never pursue this but over the years I’ve seen this same kind of play. Weird ‘wtf were they thinking?!’ style patents that never really see the light of day.
That all said, I’d be very curious while brainstorming this what kind of concessions they’d consider offering the consumer for having these ads play? Maybe some form of discount on the loan if financed directly through Ford? Given the high prices of new cars. Maybe some discounts on things like gas/EV charging? They’ve already got functionality for initiating a fuelling session at participating gas stations from the infotainment system. And EV’s with Plug and Charge through FordPass can tie straight into Ford’s backend for billing. It’s definitely a curious thought to consider.
